In Times Square, dozens of people watched election results on screens in a space set up by CNN, already filling Duffy Square before New York polls had even closed. Several waved American flags. A security guard told Metro he was secretly rooting for Romney.

Just off Times Square, a Comedy Central party featuring election results showed different news stations on half a dozen televisions. Bobble heads of the candidates decorated food tables, and guests could try scratch-off lottery-style tickets, hoping to get three Obamas or Romneys in a row.

Out in Williamsburg, young Brooklynites gathered at local bar Richlane, to watch the election streaming off of a laptop projected onto a wall. Obama victories were met with cheers and applause; Romney with booing. States voting on marijuana legalization, and Massachusetts candidate Elizabeth Warren's projected Senate victory both received standing ovations.

Christian Storm, 26, confessed to being "very anxious," was with a friend from Cleveland, Ohio, who said he's never voted.

"It's just me, he's not anxious," Storm said. "I don't even know what party he is, he doesn't talk about it. He's my good buddy and we've never talked about it."